The Passive Voice
A construction that puts the receiver of an action in the subject position, formed with be + past participle. Used when the agent is unknown, irrelevant, or deliberately suppressed. Common in formal writing, journalism, and scientific prose. Every tense has a passive version.
The passive voice puts the receiver of an action in the subject position, instead of the doer. Formed with be + past participle, it shifts focus from who did the action to who or what received it.
Active: The chef cooked the meal. Passive: The meal was cooked (by the chef).
The agent (the chef) can be omitted entirely: The meal was cooked.
The passive is one of the most distinctive features of English grammar. It’s used heavily in:
- Scientific writing: The samples were analyzed…
- Journalism: The president was elected…
- Bureaucratic prose: Mistakes were made…
- Crime stories (when the doer is unknown): The car was stolen…
How to form the passive
Take be in the right tense + past participle of the main verb.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | makes | is made |
| present continuous | is making | is being made |
| past simple | made | was made |
| past continuous | was making | was being made |
| present perfect | has made | has been made |
| past perfect | had made | had been made |
| future (will) | will make | will be made |
| modal | can make | can be made |
In all forms, be carries the tense and the past participle stays constant.
When to use the passive
1. The agent is unknown
My bike was stolen. (we don’t know who) The window was broken. (no clear culprit)
2. The agent is obvious or irrelevant
The mail is delivered at 9. (by the postman, obviously) The book was published in 1900. (the publisher doesn’t matter)
3. The agent is general
English is spoken everywhere. (by speakers in general) Bread is made from wheat. (general process)
4. The receiver is more important than the doer
The president was assassinated in 1865. (the receiver is the focus) The patient was operated on. (focus on patient, not surgeon)
5. To deliberately hide the agent
Mistakes were made. (avoiding blame) The decision has been taken. (no one wants to claim it)
This is the “political passive” — Orwell wrote about it in Politics and the English Language.
Including the agent — by
If you want to mention the agent, use by + agent:
The book was written by Austen. The cake was eaten by the children. He was bitten by a dog.
If the instrument or method matters, use with:
The cake was decorated with cream. The door was opened with a key.
Active vs. passive — choosing
The active voice is generally clearer, more direct, and preferred in modern writing.
The chef cooked the meal. (active — clear, who did what)
The passive is justified when:
- Agent is unknown or irrelevant
- The receiver is the topic
- You’re writing a scientific report
- You’re being deliberately formal
Don’t overuse the passive. Mistakes were made by us in the planning of the project is wordy; We made mistakes planning the project is better.
The passive with two objects
If a verb takes two objects (direct and indirect), either object can become the passive subject.
Active: They gave the prize to John. Passive 1: The prize was given to John. (direct object as subject) Passive 2: John was given the prize. (indirect object as subject — common in English)
English is unusual in allowing the indirect object to become the passive subject. Other languages typically don’t.
The get passive
In informal English, the passive can use get instead of be:
I got hurt. (= I was hurt) She got promoted. They got married.
The get passive often implies:
- A change of state (married, hurt, promoted)
- A negative or unexpected event (got robbed, got fired)
- Informality
Don’t use the get passive in formal writing.
Stative passives (description) vs. dynamic passives (action)
The passive form looks the same for two different meanings:
- Dynamic (action happening): The door was opened by the wind. (someone/something opened it)
- Stative (resulting state): The door was open. (this is its condition)
In English, the dynamic passive usually has a clear time frame; the stative is timeless or general.
The book is written in English. (stative — describes the language of the book) The book is being written by Maria. (dynamic — active writing happening)
Passive in different tenses — examples
Present simple passive
English is spoken in many countries. The mail is delivered every morning.
Past simple passive
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo. The car was stolen yesterday.
Present continuous passive
The house is being painted right now. Dinner is being prepared.
Past continuous passive
The house was being painted when I arrived.
Present perfect passive
The work has been finished. I have been told the news.
Past perfect passive
The decision had been made before I arrived.
Modal passives
This problem can be solved. The package should be delivered tomorrow. You must be vaccinated. He may have been promoted.
Future passive
The results will be announced tomorrow. The new bridge is going to be opened in May.
Verbs that can’t be passive
Intransitive verbs (no direct object) can’t be made passive:
❌ He came. → not Was came. ❌ She arrived. → not Was arrived.
You need a direct object for the passive transformation.
Stative verbs (have, own, seem, belong, resemble, fit, suit) generally don’t take passive:
❌ He has a car. → not A car is had by him.
Use these in active form.
Reporting passive — is said to
A common passive construction in journalism and academic prose:
He is said to be intelligent. The painting is believed to be a forgery. She is thought to have left the country.
This shifts the source of belief away from the speaker.
What you don’t need to do
You don’t need to use the passive when active is clearer. Modern style guides recommend active voice as the default.
You don’t need to add by + agent every time. If the agent is unknown or unimportant, omit it.
You don’t need to memorise every tense in passive. The formula is: be (in the right tense) + past participle. Master this and you can produce any passive.
Common confusions
- Past participle ≠ past simple for irregular verbs. I saw (past simple) vs. It was seen (past participle). He went vs. He has gone. Learn each verb’s three forms.
- Passive doesn’t change verb meaning. The cake was eaten still describes eating; it just changes which noun is in the subject position.
- Don’t overuse passive. Modern writing prefers active voice unless there’s a clear reason to use passive.
- Intransitive verbs can’t be passive. Was arrived is wrong because arrive has no object.
Where you’ll meet it in the library
Passive voice is heavily used in:
- Dracula (B1+) — Stoker’s Gothic mystery relies on passive voice to maintain suspense about who did what. Crime fiction generally uses passive voice when the culprit is unknown.
- Frankenstein (B1+) — Shelley uses passive voice to make Victor’s creation feel impersonal and fated. The creature was made, not I made the creature.
- Animal Farm (B1+) — Orwell, who criticised passive-voice obfuscation in essays, uses it in this novella to satirise political language. Mistakes were made is the classic political passive.
Where you'll see this in books.
The boxes were brought ashore and stored in the cellar. The Count was seen near the docks. The crew had been murdered, but no one knew by whom.
The creature was made from many parts. The body was assembled with care. Many years had been spent on this work. The secret had been kept for too long.
The pigs were elected to lead. The rules were written on the wall. The other animals were not consulted. Mistakes were made. Things had been decided long ago.